Nagpur: A Rs35-crore road concretisation and widening project, intended to ensure safer and smoother traffic movement, has turned into a death trap due to the authorities’ alleged failure to remove encroachments and maintain the sanctioned width of the 4.5-km Zingabai Takli-Godhani-Bokara-Koradi road.Locals and public representatives claimed that the state public works department (PWD), which executed the project, allowed encroachments to remain, compromising the road’s right of way at multiple locations. The narrowed carriageway has contributed to frequent accidents, including Tuesday’s fatal crash.According to PWD sources, the project was sanctioned in 2018 and completed in 2021. Although the original right of way was approximately 18 metres, it was reduced at certain locations during concretisation to avoid removing encroachments.A senior PWD official admitted, on condition of anonymity, that encroachments were not removed due to “unwarranted pressure”, forcing the department to adjust the right of way.“The sanctioned carriageway width of 6.5 metres on each side was maintained by making adjustments in the right of way at certain locations. The two-year defect liability period has already expired, and any additional corrective measures will require fresh work orders,” the official told TOI.Meanwhile, local corporator Seema Davre met municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar on Wednesday, demanding immediate removal of encroachments and strict action against vehicles parked outside shops, further squeezing the available carriageway.Blaming the PWD for the situation, Davre said the road was supposed to be widened, but encroachments were left untouched. She warned that the situation had become dangerous for motorists.Congress corporator Snehal Thakre said she had repeatedly approached civic and NIT officials over variations in road width and encroachments. Alleging that the alignment was altered during construction to accommodate commercial establishments, she said, “Whenever commercial permissions are granted, the road is diverted around 20 feet ahead to accommodate the establishment. It should not matter whose shop it is. The sanctioned road width must be maintained.”
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